Luxury travel is a lucrative and well-suited market for the agent working from home.

Luxury travel is one of the best markets for home-based agents. Following are some things that those who want to tap into this market should know.

The reward is high commissions and fees: Luxury travel produces the biggest payoff for agents. It’s simple mathematics -- the higher the ticket price, the higher the commissions and fees.

The market is expanding: Even the casual observer can see that the luxury travel market is growing dramatically. “We’ve seen a big shift in the last few years toward more luxury,” says Scott Avera, vice president of General Tours World Traveler. “In Europe we’re selling a lot of the Peter Deilmann Cruises, the most luxurious ships in Europe. In Asia we’re doing programs with Shangri-La. It’s built over the years because the business is there. Our product now is much more luxury. We see less of the ‘pricebusters.’ We still cater to that market as well, but there is less of it.”

Luxury is suited to home-based agents: Luxury travelers do not wander into strip-mall storefronts. This business is based on long-term relationships and word of mouth, and almost all of it is sold through agents, since high-ticket purchases require more sales counseling.

“We’ve been very successful working with travel agents, who get our kind of travel experience and can convey that to their clientele,” say Jerre Fuqua, the president of First Choice Expeditions, which includes Travcoa, TCS Expeditions and several other high-end operators. “The good travel agents know who their customers are and can look in their databases and find those who are suited to high-end product.”

Most luxury business is conducted on the phone or through the Internet, making the locations of the agents and the clients virtually irrelevant. Once a relationship is created, there is rarely the need – or the time – for face-to-face visits. The high-end market is a good fit for home-based agents because it requires a great deal of personal attention, relationship-building and intensive one-on-one service.

“This is where people need their hands held,” says Randy Durband, the president of Intrav. “China, Africa, India, expedition ships, exotic destinations … You need assistance to get to Antarctica. The leading-edge baby boomer needs that.”

Says Marilyn Downing Staff, the CEO of Asia Transpacific Journeys, “Most of the home-based agents we deal with are the crème de la crème. They are smart, savvy and have a sophisticated book of business contacts, often nationwide. They are no longer bound to their city of residence. They develop their clientele across the country. They can be based in rural Pennsylvania and dealing with New York socialites.

“The luxury business is very private, people to people,” she adds. “The higher you go in terms of the level of luxury, the more private it tends to be.”

Knowledge Is Power: Nowhere is this aphorism truer: Knowledge is the capital of the information age. The seller of luxury travel must know the market, the products and services suited to it, and, above all, the client.

The luxury market is growing at an unprecedented rate. The spending power at the top end is vast, almost unimaginable to most of the population. Selling to luxury clients requires adjusting your conceptions of what is affordable. There are many clients for whom money is never a problem.

According to The New York Times, the super-rich are leaving even the rich behind. The unprecedented creation of wealth in recent years has produced a new class of hyper-rich. “The people at the top of America’s money pyramid have so prospered in recent years that they have pulled far ahead of the rest of the population,” reported the Times. “They have even left behind people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

“The average income for the top 0.1 percent was $3 million in 2002, the latest year for which averages are available. That number is 2.5 times the $1.2 million, adjusted for inflation, that group reported in 1980.”

Net-worth statistics are even more striking. According to the Times, “The group with homes, investments and other assets worth more than $10 million comprised 338,400 households in 2001. … The number has grown more than 400 percent since 1980, after adjusting for inflation, while the total number of households has grown only 27 percent.”

In addition, other trends -- such as the maturation of the baby boom generation, the explosion in family travel and the relentless demand for innovative travel experiences -- add up to a vibrant market in which the sky is the limit for the travel agent who is able to speak the language of that market.

Jack Ezon, the president of Ovation Travel in New York, a high-end specialist, says that the requirements of affluent clients are often astonishing. “We chartered a yacht for one client who wanted to throw a party for 150 of his closest friends in San Tropez,” says Ezon. “He didn’t want his friends to have to take off their stilettos to protect the teak finish, so he paid $40,000 to carpet the deck and brought in a dance floor so they could dance without taking off their shoes.”

One of Ezon’s clients paid $10,000 to overnight his favorite hors d’oeuvres from a New York shop to a party in the South of France. Another paid $45,000 to charter a private jet rather than wait for a slightly delayed flight. “He could have settled for a dead-end flight at half the price, but it would have taken an extra hour, and he didn’t want to wait,” says Ezon. Such is life at the high end.

A Good Client Will Return: High-end clients appreciate professional service and are used to paying for it. High-end travel products are not impulse purchases. And although high-end buyers are particular about the value they receive for their money, they are not looking for low prices. Once you earn a good client by providing excellent service, that client is likely to come back. “If there is one industry where people will stay with you, it’s the luxury market,” says Victoria Boomgarden, the vice president of the luxury division of Best Travel, in Naperville, Ill., “I still have clients from my England days. Distance is completely irrelevant.”

Service Is Key: The luxury travel market is built on intensely personal service. Affluent clients expect meticulous personal attention and will pay well for it. Boomgarden says that a key to the luxury business is service that falls outside the ordinary. She refers to a client “who was dying for The New York Times crossword puzzle. So we got a copy and sent it to St. Barts. The total charge was $200, based on time.” Such unconventional services, Boomgarden says, are the key to selling more traditional services. 

Ask Questions: All operators and agents working in the luxury market agree that the niche is built on personal relationships. Tour operators can manage the destination, but it’s up to agents to know their clients and their needs. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” says Laurie Palumbo, the COO of luxury specialist Island Destinations. “It makes you seem more knowledgeable. That qualifying of the client, the pushing to get what they are looking for, what they want, that’s what’s important. At the high-end, you must deliver, or you will lose them.” 

The New Luxury Is Experience: Luxury travelers aren’t satisfied just to be pampered and comfortable. “Today’s luxury client is looking for experience,” says Palumbo. “It’s not just about sitting on the beach. They want culture. They want to interact with the people. The baby boomers with money are saying, ‘Tell me something I don’t know. Take me somewhere I haven’t heard of.’ They want to go to a place where their friends haven’t been.”

Forge Strong Partnerships: One of the most critical pieces of knowledge for luxury travel consultants is who to turn to for destination services. “Because of the sophistication of the luxury clients, it is very important to seek out very sophisticated partners,” says Staff. “You need to know who you are dealing with, who your operators are. You need good due diligence. The challenge for the home-based agents is that you don’t have a group of colleagues in the office you can turn around and ask. You have to do more of your own homework.”

Take Advantage of Tour Operator Support: Top tour operators are happy to provide assistance. “Many of the top agencies have had home-based agents for years, people who reach into the community,” says Pamela Lassers, the director of media relations for Abercrombie & Kent (A&K). “We’ve always provided support for these people because they are an indispensable source of business. Many assume it’s a new trend because of the Internet, but the fact is, it has always existed.

“For those who don’t go into the office for destination and product training, we will go to them,” she adds. “And we invite them to participate in our WebEx training, in which they watch the presentation on the computer, but also have an open telephone line so they can ask questions and get feedback.”

A&K posts information on its password-protected agent extranet about the schedule of presentations available through WebEx. Travel agents can also access an archive of the presentations that have already run.

“Many of the things [travel agents] used to do for themselves can now be done through our site,” says Lassers. “For example, they can go to any page on our site, click ‘pdf’ and can send it as an attachment. If agents have registered, they can create proposals that have their agency logo and information on them.”